Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Is It Time To Impose Term Limits?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #46
    Originally posted by 7thsfsniper View Post
    All Also, passing laws to prevent politicians from having any interest in private sector jobs from anyone that could be tied to some type of favoritism, I think would eliminate a lot of this special interest. IMO, lobbying is really the root of the evil. Isn't that how they get rich and get the money to finance thier re-election time after time?

    Thoughts?
    There's no way to eliminate lobbying.

    As I see it, lobbying is not the root of evil. Government money is.

    The amount of resources at our government's disposal is enormous. A mid level bureaucrat controls more dollars than a CEO of a fortune 500 company. This kind of wealth is worth going after.

    The way to eliminate this problem is to limit government funding. The best way to limit government funding is to remove the money in the first place. We must cut taxes. Starve the government of funds. Then cut programs and reduce government employees. We need to get rid of government employees unions also. Government employees unions should be declared illegal due to conflict of interest. The members have direct control of the organization that hire them.

    Too idealistic, I know. I can dream though.
    "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

    Comment


    • #47
      Originally posted by gunnut View Post
      The way to eliminate this problem is to limit government funding. The best way to limit government funding is to remove the money in the first place. We must cut taxes. Starve the government of funds. Then cut programs and reduce government employees. We need to get rid of government employees unions also. Government employees unions should be declared illegal due to conflict of interest. The members have direct control of the organization that hire them.
      "Starve the Pig" has new meaning when applied to government.

      It has been my experience that the State of Pennsylvania's Government Worker's Union were in bed with the Democratic leadership. They cut their own throats in 2004 and sold out their "Union Brothers and Sisters."
      J. J. Ogershok, Jr.

      Comment


      • #48
        Originally posted by JOgershok View Post
        Quotation by John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton (1834–1902). The historian and moralist, who was otherwise known simply as Lord Acton, expressed this opinion in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887:

        "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

        Far too many legislators have gone to Washington and get reelected because of their seniority. They tell the voters, "I must be returned to bring home the pork!" Raiding the piggy bank is NOT their function.
        It could be a way to get Washington to work better.

        However it can take a newly elected at least 1 term to understand how things work and accomplish objectives. So by the time they know how to navigate the ugly world of politics they are forced to step down.

        Also, there should be age limits for politicians. Most regular people are subject to forced retirement by 65/70. Why can’t politicians be held to the same standards? A politician’s primary job is to communicate with constituents and make decisions, and even though it does not result in much day-to-day work compared to other people, they should face the same or similar age restrictions as everyone else. 75 would be a reasonable age limit, but I agree it is hard to define.

        The adage “the older you get the wiser you become” can’t be applied to a 90-year-old Congressman or Senator!

        Nebula82.

        Comment


        • #49
          Well, ole Hugo managed to pass the referendum, so we apparently passed the buck somewhere. I wouldn't see the need for term limits on the congress critters if the people voting for them did not consistently have the proverbial wool pulled over their eyes. Imagine Pelosi in twenty years... but of course by then she'll be the president of the DPRC.

          Comment


          • #50
            Originally posted by JOgershok View Post
            Did anyone notice Hugo Chavez, yet again, is trying to amend the constitution of Venezuela so that he can run for a third six-year term?
            I thought I heard today that he got it done.??

            Comment


            • #51
              Originally posted by 7thsfsniper View Post
              I thought I heard today that he got it done.??
              Yup it passed, he can run again in 2012, and again, and again...

              Comment


              • #52
                Electoral authorities say 54% of Venezuelan voters backed amendment abolishing term l

                Originally posted by Herodotus View Post
                Yup it passed, he can run again in 2012, and again, and again...
                Hugo Chávez wins referendum allowing indefinite re-election

                Electoral authorities say 54% of Venezuelan voters backed amendment abolishing term limits for elected officials
                ...
                16 Feb 2009

                Venezuelans yesterday voted to abolish term limits for elected officials, boosting Hugo Chávez's ambition to rule the country for decades.

                Electoral authorities said 54% of voters in the referendum backed a constitutional amendment allowing indefinite re-election, with 46% rejecting it – a margin of almost 1 million voters.

                An exultant Chávez appeared on the balcony of the presidential palace in Caracas to address cheering supporters after the result was announced. "It is a clear victory for the people," he said. "It is a clear victory for the revolution."

                The result will boost his effort to transform the Opec country into a socialist state and burnish his leadership of Latin America's "pink tide" of leftwing governments.

                The president's mentor and ally Fidel Castro sent congratulations from his sickbed in Cuba.

                The US made no immediate comment, but the Obama administration will be dismayed at the prospect of an emboldened foe in Caracas.

                Chávez, a 54-year-old former tank commander, has been in power for a decade and plans to run for election again when his term ends in 2013. He has spoken of ruling beyond 2030.

                However, plunging oil revenues are expected to hit the Venezuelan economy and the petro-fuelled Chavez diplomacy soon.

                Some analysts predict stagflation and devaluation of the bolivar currency – the kind of grim cycle that undid previous Venezuelan leaders – and there was speculation that Chávez had rushed through the referendum before the crisis hit.

                The unexpectedly wide margin of victory prompted rapturous celebrations among "chavistas", who credit their charismatic leader for poverty-alleviating social programmes, notably free health care and discounted food.

                "We did it, we won – this is a great night," Freddy Ramirez, a 48-year-old security guard, said.

                Fireworks lit up the night sky and cars filled with flag-waving supporters drove around the capital.

                However, not everybody celebrated. "Chavez has screwed this country enough already," Ricardo Torres, a 56-year-old courier, said.

                He blamed the president for crumbling infrastructure and high crime and inflation.

                Voters had narrowly rejected a referendum to abolish presidential term limits in December 2007.

                Chávez learned lessons from that defeat, this time widening the terms of the referendum to allow mayors and governors to run indefinitely, giving them an incentive to mobilise support.

                The government's "red machine" waged a formidable campaign. Posters urging a "yes" vote saturated the country, state TV networks cheered for the "si" and civil servants were sent out to canvass.

                A flyer gave 10 reasons for voting yes. Number one said: "Chávez loves us and love is repaid with love", and the second stated: "Chávez is incapable of doing us harm".

                The opposition, a fragmented coalition of small political parties and university students, accepted defeat but complained that the government had hijacked state resources and hobbled the "no" campaign.

                "There was an abuse of power," David Smolanksy, a student leader, said.

                Analysts said Venezuela's vote could embolden leaders in countries such as Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador to seek indefinite re-election, a return of the "big man" syndrome of charismatic autocrats that marked much of the region's 20th-century history.

                "Many who are worried about unlimited executive power will be dispirited by the results. The record of such indefinite re-election in the region has been very unhappy," Michael Shifter, of the Inter-American Dialogue thinktank, said.

                At a news conference on Saturday, Chávez sought to allay such concerns and said staying in office for more than a decade was not unusual. He cited examples including the US president Franklin Roosevelt.
                J. J. Ogershok, Jr.

                Comment


                • #53
                  Originally posted by Herodotus View Post
                  Yup it passed, he can run again in 2012, and again, and again...
                  Chávez cited Roosevelt as a reason and that is why we, in the US, have term limits on the presidency.
                  J. J. Ogershok, Jr.

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Originally posted by astralis View Post
                    gunnut,

                    right on both counts, rep serrano (D-NY) brought it up both in 2003 and 2009. however, there was a bi-partisan attempt to repeal it as well back in 2003, and republicans tried to do this with back in the 80s to keep reagan onboard.
                    Clearly they have no respect for the wishes of our first president. What pricks.

                    Comment


                    • #55
                      Originally posted by Herodotus View Post
                      Yup it passed, he can run again in 2012, and again, and again...
                      Well....a lot can happen btwn now and then. You know, coups, revolutions, invasions,etc.....I mean, we are just about done in Iraq, who's next?

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        Originally posted by 7thsfsniper View Post
                        Well....a lot can happen btwn now and then. You know, coups, revolutions, invasions,etc.....I mean, we are just about done in Iraq, who's next?
                        Stirring the pot are we?
                        J. J. Ogershok, Jr.

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          Originally posted by JOgershok View Post
                          Stirring the pot are we?
                          Just doing my job!

                          Comment

                          Working...
                          X